Dream Walkers
by AngeloftheMorning1978
Summary: WARNING! EROTICA! FAN REQUEST! A&A AU. Arthur is a vampire, Ariadne is a witch. NOT TWILIGHT!
1. Chapter 1

** Fan request. Arthur is a vampire, Ariadne is a witch. **

** I said I would never do it, cuz VAMPIRES SUCK, but here it is. **

** CALM DOWN PEOPLE! **

** I am working an a squeal to "Arthur's Betrayal" as we speak. It will post very soon. **

** "The suspense is horrible! I hope it will last." ~ Oscar Wilde**

The Dream Walkers

1.

~ I could feel his eyes on me for the past few hours. I knew he was watching me as I went to the library, the market, the bakery and then home.

I quickly climbed up my stairs, ignored my nosey, judgmental neighbor I called Bertha in my head, and unlocked my door.

The casual observer would have seen my little apartment was empty. My personal space indicating nothing more unusual then the normal furnishings, art prints and kitchen supplies.

I sighed heavily and started to unpack my cloth bags. My mother and aunts always insisting on using canvas sacks and I can't go against my early teachings.

I could feel his eyes were here to. I knew he must have sneaked into my home in a way no one could see. No one human anyway.

I put my milk in the fridge.

"I know you're there." I said without turning around.

Nothing in my apartment moved. The place was empty. But yet, it wasn't.

"I saw you in the market place, the library. You might as well come out." I said as I unpacked a promising new flavor of tea I wanted to try.  
"I suppose my ability to blend in isn't as well honed as I thought it was." His voice was deep and beautiful. Pure and masculine.

I looked out into my miniscule living room to see the elegant vampire detach himself from an unseen place by my bookshelves. My heart raced at the idea he was so neatly camouflaged in a place my eyes passed over.

"You could have knocked on my door. Given me the chance to refuse you entrance." I said pouring water into the kettle.

"The rule of invitation only applies to humans. You know that." The vampire said.

I placed the kettle on the stove top.

"Would you like some tea?" I asked trying to sound casual. Trying to fight the chill his eyes gave me.

I looked at him. He didn't look like the vampire one would expect. No pale skin or strange eyes. No cape, fangs or claw like nails.

He wore a vintage style, three piece suit. His hair was slicked back neatly. His body was long and lean and his movements slow and graceful.

To any human, he looked perfectly normal.

"I think not." He said in a cold tone as the kettle boiled.

He looked annoyed by my oh so human habits. My human need to eat, have electricity and everything he no longer had a need for.

"I assume you're not here to suck my blood." I said as the kettle whistled.

The vampire looked amused.

"Hardly. Witch's blood is toxic to my kind." He said.

"That's just legend. Only one way to find out." I said boldly.

I felt the pull of magic spark in my skin. It felt like electricity was igniting in my fingertips and before I could change my mind, a large mirror swung from it's place on the door and shone on my uninvited guest.

The vampire jumped and hissed away from the hideous image of his true self.

It's only a myth that vampires have no reflection. If one of these creatures looked at himself in any mirror, it would only show his former body. The body he used to have. The shell he had shed so long ago.

"Please don't do that." He growled looking angry as he moved away from the mirror that moved to catch him again.

"Do you want to tell me what it is you want?" I asked pouring my tea into a mug. I liked the ritual of preparing raw tea. I liked steeping it and adding the sugar or honey. It brought back happy memories of my time with my Coven in America.

"I need your help." He said.

A deep scowl was marring his handsome features. I didn't look at the mirror. I liked his chosen appearance.

Another myth of vampires is that they never age. This is only partly true. They never really grow old. But they certainly don't remain the same for hundreds of years. They can change their features. Their height and build. It helps them blend into the modern world better.

Who knows what this vampire used to look like before he changed. Before he became this thing in my living room.

"Help with what?" I asked releasing the mirror. I casually sipped my tea.

We both knew he couldn't hurt me.

"I need a dream walker." He said relaxing a little.

"Aren't all vampires dream walkers?" I asked blowing on my drink.

"Yes. But so are all witches. I need you to make the dream more powerful." He admitted.

He gracefully approached the the kitchen island,and tried to get me to meet his eyes.

I didn't look him in the eyes. It's how a vampire to hypnotizes a person. It mainly works with humans but occasionally it will work on witches to.

"More powerful dream?" I asked intrigued. "Why?"

"My associate, Mr. Cobb has been going into people's dreams with me. All to extract information from a subject." The vampire explained.

"Is Mr. Cobb one of your kind?" I asked. Already I sensed the answer was no.

"Human. His late wife was a witch and the three of us would dream together." He explained.

"A witch who died? How?" I asked.

It was unusual for a witch to die in modern times.

"Suicide." The vampire asked.  
"Did you have anything to do with that?" I accused.

"Hardly." The vampire chuckled darkly. "I also need your help in breaking a nastily little curse she put on him." He added.

"What kind of curse?" I asked.

"She haunts him in the shared dreams. I believe she cursed him just before her suicide so he would never be happy without her." The vampire told me.

"A lovers hold." I said.

Lover's hold is a powerful enchantment that uses the energy of a dieing witch to create a hold on her lover so that he would never stop loving the witch. So he could never let her go.

"I can't break a lover's hold." I told the vampire.

"Why not?" He growled. His face pulling into that scowl.

"It would be the height of bad manners to tinker around with another's witch's spell." I told him.

I passed my hand over my tea and the spoon stirred itself. The vampire watching my hands with interest.

"There must have been a reason she cast the spell. He must have done something." I told him as I stepped closer to him.

I expected him to move away from me. A witch can hurt a vampire if she got it into her head. It impressed me that his wasn't afraid.

I leaned closer to him. He smelled of old things. Not of decaying things, but of old books and paper. Of old, well cared for wood. The kind of scent you would find in a nice antique shop or library. It made me smile as I breathed him in again.

"Mr. Cobb is a very decent man. He doesn't deserve the torments of his wife." The vampire said.

He paused and sniffed the air. His eyes dancing over me.

"Your entering the fourth moon." He said in surprise.

I pulled away from him. Away from his stupid vintage suit, his ugly lean body and away from the smell of old books and wood.

"What?" I said hurrying back to my kitchen.

"Your time for motherhood is approaching. Your face, your skin." He observed in delight. "It's _blooming_." He pointed a long finger at me. His eyes dancing in delight.

"I'm not in the fourth moon." I said bitingly. I could feel heat licking my face as I knew my skin was becoming pink. I knew my body was roaring into life at his observations.  
"Have you found a consort yet?" He inquired.  
"Get out!" I shouted.

Vampires were famous for being polite, yet, this one was anything but well mannered. Asking about a consort, the lover, who would father my children. Who would be my companion and protector for myself and our offspring was a sacred bond. One this creature could never understand.

I felt power snap into my fingers and it hurt. I raised my hands to the vampire and the magic pushed him against the wall.

If the vampire had breath in his lungs, he would have been left gasping from my assault.

He recovered quickly. His body gracefully jumping up.

"Forgive me." He said. "It was impolite to discuss such things." He said.

His long hands went to his breast pocket and retrieved a business card. He placed it on my kitchen island.

"I really need your help, Ariadne." He said using my name for the first time. How he knew it, I didn't asked. Somethings his kind just know.

"Please, call me day or night. I never sleep, as you know." He added giving me a weary look.

I didn't touch the card as he stepped lightly out of my apartment. The door opening before he even touched it.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Pleased that the rooms were totally empty now.

I looked at his business card. Like the vampire, it smelled of old paper. It's color was once white, but age had made it a darker shade of sepia.

There was no number on it. No email. Only one name.

_ Arthur_


	2. Chapter 2

2.

~ Mr. Darcy showed up an hour later.

My familiar was the most disagreeable cat I've ever had the displeasure to know. I could tell by the dew on his coat and the smell of his breath he had been cavorting in the back alleyways. The cat no doubt sensing the vampire, Arthur, had been here and decided to make himself scarce.

"Good evening, Mr. Darcy. You're looking dapper as always." I told him as I gave him a saucer of milk.

Mr. Darcy mewed at me and gave me his haughty look. As if the milk wasn't good enough for him.

"Sorry, Mr. Darcy. Beggars can't be choosers." I told him.

I removed a white handkerchief from a drawer and put it over the Arthur's business card.

I didn't want to touch it. Knew if I touched it, it would invoke him.

I knew my sister Artemis would call. I could sense my older sister's moods ever since we were little. She was much more free spirited then me.

It was still a shock to everyone, myself included, that I was the one who left home to study in Paris. I had left our family home and my Coven of about 30 witches. Most of whom had known myself and Artemis since childhood. I had come to Paris to be around witches so different from me.

I came to study the witch's chronicles. France was in possession of the rarest, most treasured volumes of our craft. They were not the oldest however. I would have had to wade deep into Greece for that. I knew that would most likely be my next stop in my studies.

Like all witches, I loved learning. Especially about our history. Our culture. In the forgotten libraries of Paris, I could spend hours reading over various books of shadows. Kept by witches who had lived and died so long ago. Who had been persecuted and had to flee from the ignorance and jealous nature of humans.

It made me feel closer to my craft as I leaned on the histories of my sisters.

I picked up my phone before it rang. Sensing Artemis was calling.

"Ari, are you alright?" Her voice came over the line. "I just had the worst dream and I woke up tasting old paper."

"I'm fine." I lied.

"Don't lie to me!" She snapped. "What happened? I taste old paper and your hiding something under a white handkerchief. It must be bad."

"It's nothing. Just... a vampire was here, that's all." I told her.

In any Coven, it's best to never lie to one another. The truth falls out of our lips without effort. We can't conceal things from each other no matter how hard we try.

"Oh dear. Did he try to seduce you?" Artemis asked.

"Arti!" I laughed.

"It happens!" My sister said defensively. "Vampires have been witch's consorts for centuries. A witch was safe around the little blood suckers because they don't like the taste of us. Dark witches used to help the vamps lure victims in. Sick if you ask me. Don't let that vamp get into your head."

"He's not in my head." I lied again.

"Hmm." My sister fumed.

"He needed help." I told her. "I'm not going to actually do it."

"Good. Don't think he wouldn't kill you if he had the chance, Ari." My sister said. "Although, legend has it, they do make excellent lovers. Probably all those centuries perfecting the art of pleasuring a woman." She said dreamily.

"Artemis." A said feel heat rush to my face.

I could see her, see her in the bedroom that was hers since childhood. Her lover, Tom sleeping soundly in their bed. My sister standing naked in the dark room, her belly already large with her first child.

"How is the pregnancy?" I asked. A strange sensation growing inside me since Arthur's accusation of entering the fourth moon.

"Good." Artemis said. "Tom's excited. He's been redoing Granny's old room as the nursery."

I smiled at that.

The family home was massive by any standard. It was a fine old New England home that sat on several acres of secluded farm land. My family had lived there since colonial times. When the fever of witch burnings had died down and they could live in peace.

The matriarchal nature of my kind, meant that it's woman ran things. We married, but our husbands would live with us and our female relatives in the family home.

It was certainly large enough. Ten bedrooms and five bathrooms. The paint never peeled, the pipes never cracked. The windows never broke and the glass was now wavy with age.

How I missed home right now.

"Your in the fourth moon." Artemis proclaimed.

"What? No, I'm not!" I said feeling defensive.  
"Ariadne, I can see you. Your face. It's just... it's _blooming_!" She laughed.

Blooming. That was the word Arthur used.

"I'll have to think on this." Artemis laughed.

"I'm not in the fourth moon." I told her.

"Whatever you say, Fourth Moon-er!" She teased.

I could see her, pulling out her tarot cards and setting them up.

"That market place. Go to the market place and follow the leaves." She said after a few moments.

"Leaves?" I laughed. Her fortune telling was notoriously inaccurate.

"That's where you'll find your consort. Your lover. Oh, Ari, he has the most beautiful eyes. They look like deep water!" She said excitedly. "Our family needs babies with eyes that color!"

"I'm hanging up now." I told her.

"Okay, love you, Fourth Moon-er!" My sister sang. "Go to the market and stay away from that vampire. I wish I could see him. Turn a few mirrors on him. You know this baby is making my powers so much stronger. I would love something to unleash it on."

I laughed and we said our good-bye.

I couldn't be in fourth moon. I'm only 24. That's far too young to start having babies. My mother didn't enter her fourth moon till she was in her thirties. Still, Artemis was only a year older then me and she was in her fourth moon.

There was still to much I wanted to do with my life. I didn't want to find some nice guy with deep blue eyes to take care of me and have babies with. I wasn't ready.

I stripped naked and took a shower.

I didn't bother with clothes after I got out. Witches are not cursed with modesty. It's a defining trait. One of the ways people could sense our differences. We felt our magic was stronger when we were free of clothing.

Only humans felt the shame of nudity. Not witches.

My body felt beautiful and powerful as I went to bed. I kept my lights off and didn't have to touch my bedding to get it to unfold and cover me up.

I was asleep and knew nothing more till I awoke and Arthur was beside me.

~ He had probably been standing there for hours. Watching me sleep.

My magic surged out of me and, before I could stop it, he was pinned to the wall.

He struggled to escape the invisible hold that kept him restrained there.

"Release me!" He ordered.

"Arthur, is it?" I asked him as I left my bed. My hair had magically grown longer in my sleep and hung over my breasts. I didn't bother to cover myself with a robe. I didn't even own one.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I came to try and talk you into helping me." He said as my powers kept him pinned to the wall. His graceful feet not even able to touch the floor.

"I told you my answer." I said.

My powers tuning him upside down against the wall.

"The situation has changed!" He growled.

That creature part of him waking up. I could see his features change. His face becoming corpse like. His eyes glowing red and angry.

"You're in the fourth moon. Cobb has two young children. A girl named Phillipa..." He paused and composed himself. "And a son."

I dropped him. The shock of this news made my powers loosen.

Boys were almost unheard of. A witch hardly ever gave birth to a son. It was always daughters who were born. A male witch, a wizard, was prized for their powers and ability to pass them down. For keeping our race alive, but a wizard could also be dangerous.

Wizards were charming men. They lied easily and drew people into their spells. They were politicians and CEO's. They were both good and evil. History is littered, unfortunately, with the more evil wizards. Some of whom rose to incredible power. The good ones, lead armies to stop them.

"A boy?" I croaked. "Does he... can he?" I tried to think.

Arthur stood.

"Yes, Ariadne. He has powers. He seems to have remarkable control over them to."

My own name sounded so different on his voice. He pronounced it so carefully I felt an odd ripple go through my body and for the first time in my life, I felt odd being naked in front of another person.

Arthur seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Can you put some clothes on, please?" He asked.

"Dose the female body disturb you? That's just the part of you that still remains human. That still is tainted with original sin." I told him. "You might want to work on that."

I felt the rush of power my nakedness gave me. Like a rouge wave rising up.

"Madam, can you please put clothes on?" He asked politely.

~ The vampire sat on my small kitchen table. I had relented and dawned an overly large T-shirt at his request. It felt too heavy and was making me too hot. I longed to be back in my own skin again.

"How old is the boy?" I asked.

"Three. He can already surpass his older sister in things. He can move things without touching them. He can even dream walk."

"Amazing." I breathed.

"I introduced Cobb to his late wife. I had known her Coven for decades. They were wiped out last year in a fire." Arthur said.

"How did that happen?" I asked.  
"Not sure exactly. We think it was paladins. Religious nuts." Arthur said. His long fingers tracing patterns on my little table.

"And you think that because I'm entering fourth moon, I can take them home with me? I can bring them into my own Coven. Become their mother." I concluded.

"I thought you weren't entering fourth moon." He said not looking at me.  
"Dose Cobb know? What you are?" I asked him.

A ghost of a smile flickered on the vampires face.

"No. He doesn't he didn't know Mal was a witch either." He said.

He looked at me.

"Do any of your consorts know what you are?" He asked.

"My consorts are none of your affair, sir." I told him curtly.

"You are correct in that regard." He said standing as if gravity didn't apply to him. His movements so light, he looked like his feet didn't even touch the ground. The door swung open by itself as he made his leave.

"I believe you will know where to meet myself and Mr. Cobb." He said.

I nodded. I could see the workshop the Vampire called home. See where it was exactly.

"I should warn you, there will be others there. Don't be alarmed. They won't hurt you." He said before leaving me. The door closing on itself.

**~ Just saw TDKR. Christopher Nolan never stops making me love him. LOVE THAT MAN! This movie was so epic I can't even describe it. Go out and see it! NOW!**

** Haters had no right to hate Anne Hathaway as cat woman cuz she killed it as cat woman. Best cat woman ever. **

** JGL. (Sigh) Joe, why do you do this to me? Why do you do these movies that makes us love you even more? You're no Arthur this movie, and we love Arthur, but we can learn to love John Blake. **

** I WILL write a fan-fic about John Blake very soon. No worries. No spoilers, I promise. **

** My heart goes out to the families of the Colorado shootings. The actions of one person who decided to glamorize himself by hurting and taking the lives of so many innocent people is disgusting. **

** To my international followers, readers and friends; Americans are not like this. This was one man who decided to make a name for himself. Who decided to commit this horrible act purely so we would remember him.**

** I'll forget him, and remember the people he hurt. **


	3. Chapter 3

3.

~ After he left, Arthur came to me in my dreams. As soon as the door closed and locked itself, I brushed off our meeting as easily as I shed that cumbersome T-Shirt.

I rejoiced in being naked again as I climbed back into bed.

Perhaps the fourth moon really was coming upon me. I felt oddly more empowered then normal. I was more aware of my body as the air seemed to kiss the delicate skin society demanded I keep covered.

I wasn't aware I had run a hand up over my breast, teasing my nipple, until I had let out a moan of pleasure. Self gratification is nothing to feel ashamed of and should not be condemned. Witches celebrate their sexuality and are not burdened with the double standard rules on sexual partners. We don't conform to names narrow minded people give us.

If we're already bad in their minds, why not enjoy ourselves?

I couldn't get Arthur out of my mind. He had seen my body. Had not been afraid of it. Had respected it and didn't stare at me with lust the found on the faces of human men.

I remembered what Artemis had said about vampire being such good lovers from centuries of practice. From so many years of using their talents to seduce the fairer sex into illicit deeds. Their was no fear that a vampire would put you with child. He would have to be alive for that. Vampires didn't reproduce sexually. But like opening the vein and drinking blood, sex was apart of their nature.

The sheets felt good on my skin as my nipples were now sensitive and tender from my touch. I relaxed into my own self pleasure as my hand was rubbing and petting myself between my legs. A surprising amount of heat and dampness forming as I suddenly felt very tired.

'_I'm being pulled into a dream._' I thought just before I slipped off the precipice of wakefulness and into the vampire's world.

~ I 'woke' to a land covered in light snow. I was no longer naked and was thankful for that. It was unnaturally cold here.  
"Arthur?" I called. I could sense I wasn't the only dreamer. "Where are you?"

The man that came from the shadows was so different from the creature that had been stalking me in the waking world. He had more weight on him in this place. His arms were broader and he looked stronger and healthier. His face, slightly altered in a way I couldn't name. His eyes were green in the dream. In the waking world, they were brown.

"I wanted to show you, what I was like before. I wanted to show you, that I was once human." He explained. His voice no longer deep and powerful like it had been. This young man's words were barely above a whisper.  
"You had no right to pull me into your dream." I hisses at him.

His face so dramatically different from what I had seen of him before, it was hard to tell he was the same person.

I looked around. The snow fell like cotton. Floating and swirling around us. The air was cold and clean. I had never felt air like this. I could smell trees and grass. I could taste nature in a way any witch would envy.

"Remarkable, isn't it?" Arthur said as he watched me. No doubt seeing the appreciation on my face as I saw an unlimited view of forest, lakes, and cliffs. Nothing here was touched by the hands of man. It was raw nature and I had never seen anything so beautiful.

"Where are we?" I breathed as I felt rich with this clean air.

"Great Britain." Arthur said.

I stared at him in shock. He laughed and nodded.

"About 300 AD. Emperor Hadrian had his wall built. I was one of the Centurions charge with it's protection."

"You're over 1,700 years old?" I asked in shock.

He didn't look at me.

"My commander, ordered an expedition north. We left the great wall. My legion was attacked by Celts and killed. Myself and a handful of others escaped. We wandered this country for weeks. Nearly froze to death. Nearly starved to death." He explained.

I felt the dream change. We were in a picturesque clearing and a primitive hut was standing by a large creek. The water looked clear and clean, the hut looked to be made by hand.

"I found her." Arthur said sadly.

A girl. A young woman emerged from the hut, tending a cauldron.

"She was a witch. Like you." He said. His eyes moved over this young woman. Longing to touch her. Knowing, she wasn't real.

"She took me in. Saved my life." Arthur explained.

"What happened to her?" I asked. Sensing the ending was to be tragic.

"The Romans happened to her." Arthur said coldly. "My reinforcements had finally arrived and retrieved me. They didn't see the natives of this island and anything more then savages."

He didn't have to tell me what happened next. The truth of his past came out clearly before us. Arthur, human and alive, was being held back as his comrades pulled the witch down and raped her. The girl's magic useless against such a defilement.

Arthur was shouting as the Romans were laughing. One after another climbing on top of the girl.

"She cursed me for what I did." Arthur said beside me. "For failing to protect her. For allowing them to hurt her."

"She turned you into this." I concluded. I looked at the sad young man in his human form.

Arthur nodded.

"My revenge was horrible." He whispered as one of the Centurions cut the girl's neck open. A screaming, helpless Arthur, was next to die. A blow to the face silencing him as I watched him drown in his own blood. The real Arthur, the vampire, stood beside me and watched unflinchingly.

We both watched as night fell and the Romans started drinking. We watched as the witch's magic brought Arthur's body back to life. A newborn vampire growling and hungry.

The creature he became; spared no one. A ravenous monster who fed wildly on the men who had hurt him so. Killing quickly and gorging himself till he was nothing more then a primitive being. Howling with rage.

"I could have lived the rest of my life with her. I loved her. I didn't want to go back." Arthur whispered by my side.

"She cursed you because you couldn't protect her. She felt safe with you. That's why her powers weren't able to fend off her attackers. Her guard was down." I told him.

Dawn had fallen on the Roman encampment. The newborn vampire that was Arthur cried at the burning sun and hid in the forest. Doomed to never feel the sun's light again.

Yet, the Arthur by my side basked in the beauty of the sun. A different man, a whole man, stood by me. In dreams, the curse didn't affect him. He was human here.

I felt the strong pull of the fourth moon stir inside my body. Suddenly, I didn't see or feel the vampire he had become, I saw a man who was a warrior. A man who could and would defend me and our children.

I had to restrain myself as I wanted to be closer to him. I liked his facial features in the dream. Liked how he smelled of slight masculine perspiration. Of evergreen and fresh snow. I liked how he smelled of living things here.

How easy it would be to love him. If only dreams were real.

"You think, by showing me this, I'll help you?" I told him. Trying to remember that Arthur was a demon like creature in the waking world. An unnatural thing. A being that should not be loved.

"Every night, for almost 2,000 years, I've been haunted by the fact I could not defend the woman I loved. I can accept my punishment. I can accept this... _life_. Mr. Cobb has his two children to think about and I will not let him suffer. Not when there is something I can do."

"Perhaps his wife wanted him to suffer." I said turning to him. "Maybe he did something."

"No." Arthur said. "Mal wasn't like that. She was lovely."

"I'll see the boy." I told him.

Arthur stood a little straighter. His light colored eyes looking pleased.

"If my Coven is willing, I'll take him and his sister back with me." I said.

"Ariadne, there are other forces at work. Other creatures who want the boy. Want what he will have the ability to one day do." Arthur said. "I have a protector for him, but it won't be enough. Not for what's coming."

"What's coming?" I asked.

Suddenly, the storm clouds parted and it started to rain.

Howling, strange and horrible, echoed through the trees.

"Arthur?" I asked as the rain fell. A flash of lighting illuminated around me and I realized I was alone.

Not alone. Out of the trees, yellow glowing eyes were watching me. They moved with the shadows and climbed nimbly over rocks. Lighting flashed again and I saw them.

Wolves.

~ I awoke in a cold sweat. My heart racing as I tried to remember it was just a dream.

Dream walking was a strange gift for witches. We could invade a persons dreams at anytime. One of the tricks we use for our survival. It was how we always seemed to know things that were impossible to know.

We used dream walking to learn things about people. Learn what they know and if were in danger. We used familiars like Mr. Darcy as spy cameras. The animal able to sneak and skulk around. Listened and watching. Giving us the power to be in two places at once. These were all tools we used to to give us advantage over others that were not our kind.

I had dreamed walked many times. Invaded the dreams of humans with little effort. I have never been pulled into a vampires dream before. My body cold and shaken from the experience. The memory of those yellow eyes.

The knowledge that werewolves were after the boy.


	4. Chapter 4

4.

~ "Follow leaves." I whispered on my way to the vampire's work shop the next morning.

Even though I had a miserable nights sleep, I woke up feeling very refreshed and powerful the this morning. My hair had once more grown out so long, and I had to cut it with a pair of sewing scissors.

Witches must burn their own hair so that a spell won't be cast upon them and I could feel the stink of burnt hair still clinging to my clothes.

So, when I saw the leaves swirling and dancing on the cobbled streets, I almost didn't follow them. I didn't want to admit I was deep in the pulls of the fourth moon. That a gnawing animal was inside me that could only be satisfied by one thing.

A dust up of unexpected wind caught the early fall leaves and sent them to twirl and spin in a beautiful solitary display before me. Humans ignored the leaves, but I was fascinated.

The humans were cursing the strange wind that was knocking over outdoor tables and awnings. A man selling balloons outside the street market shouting as the wind caught his merchandize and pulled them free. Colorful balloons floating to the sky as the leaves danced and ran away from me. I couldn't seem to catch them as the wind created beautiful chaos around me.

I tuned out the shouting of the street people as the wind knocked over carts and stands. The humans not liking the beauty of raw nature and hurried away from it. I was trying to catch the leaves, my hearing stunted when it happened.

"Watch out!" A man's cry came and he tackled me.

My first instincts were to blast him. Jinx him with some evil spell that would make him sick or break out in boils. But the return of my hearing revealed that a truck had almost hit me and he had knocked me out of the way. He had saved my life.

People were shouting. Asking if I was alright.  
I looked up at the man who had tackled me to the ground. He was kneeling over me. His eyes bluer then any ocean. His face kind and handsome. A man who smelled of fresh fruit, salt air and fresh cut lumber.

"Are you alright, miss?" He asked as I could only lay on my back and look at him. Look at him, and _know_, he was my consort. _Know_ that he was the man the fourth moon in me was meant to find.

~ His name was Josh. Before he was in Paris, he was in Greece. Before that, South America working with some kind of relief effort. He built houses for the poor and liked living out of a suitcase. He sold fresh fruit at the market and read Hemingway.

He didn't have to tell me any of this. His bright eyes, his beautiful smell, his calloused hands. His life story was all over his body.

"You hit your head." He told me as he looked at the gash in the back of my skull.

"I'm fine." I tried to tell him.

My cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. I had crushes before, certainly, but not like this. Not like this powerful pull that made my body want to meld with his. My mind thinking only of how well out bodies would work together. How good he would feel as my legs were wrapped around him.

"I need to clean this. Then I'll let you go." He told me in a careless, teasing manner.

I had to smile. I felt so beautiful for some reason. I knew, my skin was perfect, my hair was shinny, my yes were bright. I knew my clothing was flattering and Josh was taking it all in. Admiring everything about me. The fourth moon making me shine beautifully for him.

"Are you a Doctor?" I asked. Trying to sound like I didn't already know him. Know everything about him.

"Oh no. I'm just a worker bee. I build things. I want to be a carpenter, but no one buys good furniture anymore. Everything is mass produced. Cheap and disposable." He told me. A certain sadness in those blue eyes of his that made me want to comfort him.

I winced at the sting of rubbing alcohol. When I got home, I would have to apply a Wiccan salve to heal it better.

"So when your not building things, you go around rescuing girls from getting hit by delivery trucks?" I asked.

He laughed.  
"Only girls who are chasing leaves down a busy street." He told me.

Josh insisted on my staying with him. His feeble excuse was, he wanted to make sure I didn't have a concussion. I knew that he just didn't want me to leave.

I sat in the cozy little fruit stand with him as we people watched. He sketched old ladies who were wandering the aisles. We laughed at funny little couples in too trendy clothes. He told me about his travels and his plans. How he was growing tired of living out of the army duffel bag I knew he had carried with him for the past few years.

I could stay there with Josh and breath in the smell of the ocean and his clean clothes all day. I knew he wanted me to stay. How easy it would have been to take him back home with me. He could love me, I could love him. It was all there between us.

I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to leave him or have our time end.

"I really need to be going." I whispered after a few hours of bliss with him. Our long talk drawing to an end.

Josh stood. His body muscular and strong. Like Arthur's had been in the dream.

_ Arthur. _

"You might want to come by tomorrow." He said hopefully. "I'll have a shipment of fall apples."

I smiled and felt the pull of the fourth moon. Felt that he would father my children. That he would love us and protect us. A pair of giggling girls with his shinny brown hair and startlingly blue eyes.

"I'll be here." I told him as I knew he was watching me leave.

My cell phoned dinged as I left the market and made my way to Arthur's workshop. I pulled it out and saw it was from Artemis.

_~ What did I tell you about those eyes! _

_I know what your doing, stay away form the vamp. _

_Can't trust them. _

_They all lie. ~_

~ The vampire's workshop was tucked out of the way. I almost missed it. It was in a less trafficked part of the city. It was an old sewing factory and at first, I felt the magic telling me not to go inside.

On the street, just outside of the workshop, I could feel eyes on me. Strange, hungry eyes. A wolf's eyes.

I had never been around a real werewolf. But my aunt Wisteria had. They look like humans, but their nature was much more primal. They were worse then vampires in our view. At least vampires were civilized creatures.

~ The warehouse smelled of old wood and paper. It was how Arthur had most likely obtained his unique scent. The large panoramic windows were covered with old newspapers. As a witch, I was irresistibly drawn to the old, yellowed paper. The knowledge seeker in me delighted by the vintage ads and how much society had changed in the past century since Arthur had covered these windows to protect himself from the sun.

"It lets the light in without burning me." His deep voice came from behind.

I didn't jump. I hadn't seen him there, but I could feel his eyes as soon as I came in the building.

"The sun burns because only living things can embrace the light. You're dead. That's why the sun hurts you." I told him turning around.

The vampire smiled. Arthur was almost nice looking when he smiled.

"I'm glad you came." He told me.  
"I said I would." I told him casually looking at all the disused sewing equipment. The cobwebs over everything.

"I was expecting you a few hours ago." He told me. His hands in the pockets of his vintage style suit. It was odd how he looked almost impatient. Vampires were notoriously patient. They do have all the time in the world.

"I was busy." I told him.

"Chasing leaves?" He asked.

"That's none of your business." I hissed. I didn't want Arthur to know about Josh.

"James and Phillipa will be here soon. I've had their guardian, Saito, look after them.

"Saito?" I asked.

"You'll see." He told me.

"You have a werewolf watching this place." I told him looking over his vintage suit with contempt.

Josh was to be my consort. I could easily love that earthy man who smelled of fresh fruit and salt air. So why was I drawn to the vampire? A dead thing who smelled of old paper and wood. A man who could never be in the sunlight with me.

"Yes, Mr. Eames. He's been interested in the boy for a long time. It's becoming quite the task to keep him at bay." Arthur told me. He dark eyes flickering to me. "He didn't bother you did he?"

"He would never give himself away in broad daylight like that." I told the vampire. "Even werewolves know better then to attack a witch. I wouldn't end well for them."

I felt the magic surge in me at the idea of hurting a werewolf. I suddenly wished this Mr. Eames was there.

Arthur nodded.

"He want's James and Phillipa. They have no Coven to protect them." Arthur said. "They need you. They need a witch who can step in as their mother. Your entering the fourth moon. Your natural instincts will be to bond with them."  
"You know nothing about a witch's instincts." I hissed at him.

We stared at one another until the lift jarred into life.

"Mr. Cobb is here." Arthur said as he gracefully stepped away from me. His movements so light and almost dancer like, I marveled at his figure with envy.

~ I didn't look too much at Mr. Cobb. I could see why he became the husband of a witch. Like all our consorts, Cobb was handsome and charming. He was affectionate to his son and daughter and had no doubt been a doting husband. His eyes, however, looking troubled and agitated.

It was not Mr. Cobb who caught my attention because the boy and girl held the only fascination for me.

James and Phillipa looked at me. We three knew right away what we were.

Arthur watched us as Phillipa and I kept eye contact. The beautiful little girl sensing that I was like her. That I was like her mother. The little boy holding her hand as he giggled and wanted to touch my hair.  
"James is never this affectionate." Cobb was saying as I knelt down to let the boy touch me. Our wonder at one another evident.

I could feel his power radiating off him like heat. He would be powerful one day. No wonder Arthur was worried.

"My friend Arthur tells me you're an architect." Cobb said as I communicated silently with the children. Learned that they missed their mother and were a little afraid of something they couldn't put a name to.

"Architect? Yes." I told Cobb. A lie the vampire must have made up. "Yes, I'm here to help you in the dream."

"This is our client. Mr. Saito." Cobb said nodding to an elegant gentleman I had not seen before.

I knew right away what this man was. I had seen his kind many times before. My first reaction was to grab the children and run. Mr. Saito and others like him hunted my kind. His people held trials that ended with us swinging by a rope. They were puffed up with self adulation. Believing they were doing good works as they slaughtered things they felt went against nature.

Mr. Saito was a slayer. He killed witches, vampires and werewolves alike.

Why he was helping a vampire to protect a young witch and wizard, I had no idea.

**~ Sorry it took so long to update. I know I'm an everyday update girl, but I have been a little off lately and my schedule has been crazy. But it's back to normal and I'll update soon.**

**BTW, got my copy of GQ yesterday and a nicer cover, I have never seen. (wink) Very cool interview with JGL and even some insight from ZD. He needs to marry her. **


	5. Chapter 5

5.

~ "Nice to meet you, Mr. Saito." I said not touching the slayer.

Saito said nothing. He was a little old to be a slayer. A breed of men and women that average as young as teenagers and who normally die well before they reach middle age. Hunting powerful creatures like vampires and werewolves is dangerous work. Hunting witches is especially deadly.

I glared at him and he glared at me with his strange, tiger like eyes.

Cobb's cell phone went off and he excused himself.

"Odd that someone like you is willing to help us." I said when the human was out of hearing.

"Not at all." Saito said. His tiger eyes roaming over me. Looking for weaknesses.

"Arthur, I was expecting a little minion on yours to be looking after the children." I said to the vampire. Not taking my eyes off the slayer for a second.

The vampire gave me that smile again. The one that almost made him look handsome.

"Hardly. Ariadne, I do not keep minions." He said. "Unlike many of my kind, I don't find it necessary to enslave humans to do my leg work."

"You're a great humanitarian." I told the vampire. My eyes still sparing with the slayer.

"I became acquainted with Mr. Saito a long time ago. I went to Japan to seek him out." Arthur said.

"How long ago?" I asked.

For a vampire, time means almost nothing. To a human, a year is long. To Arthur and his kind, a year is only a second.

The vampire sighed.

"Around the time of the American Civil War. I had heard rumors of a great slayer. Saito was that man." Arthur explained.

"Slayers don't live that long." I told Mr. Saito logically.

"Very true." Saito said. His eyes flickering over me.

From the slayer, came a faint, smell. A smell of exotic blossoms, snow, and a very faint scent. The smell of old paper.

"You have been giving this slayer your own blood?" I whispered to the vampire stepping away from them. Pulling the children with me. "That's why he has lived so long."

"Ariadne." Arthur said. He moved closer to me as the three of us spoke volumes with our eyes.

"I sought Saito out because at the time, I wanted him to end my suffering. I couldn't go on with this life. I went to find him so he could kill me. When I finally found him, he refused to kill me right away. We would talk, learned each others language. We... we became friends. I give him my own blood so that he can stay alive to help me. I've devoted my life to helping the innocent. Like the children here." Arthur almost pleaded.

Artemis' voice came into my head.

"Don't trust the vamp. They lie."

My sister's warning was in my head as if she were in the room with me.

"Sorry about that." Cobb said returning to us. "Had to take that phone call. The human was oblivious to the three of us staring at each other. Pure hatred and mistrust written plainly on my face.

"Shall we get started?" The human asked.

~ Cobb mistakenly put his faith in dreams in an odd device he called a PASIV. A silver suitcase he thought gave him the ability to share dreams. He never realized it was really Arthur pulling him into a dream walk. The vampire's dark gifts were something I, and all witches share.

"Can you go into the dreams?" Phillipa asked as the men talked.

The little girl's voice was barely above a whisper.

I took her hands in mine. I gave her a warm smile and pulled on her fingers one by one. My magic painting her fingernails a blue, sparkly color. A trick that delighted her the same way it did me when I was little, and my aunts wanted to show me they cared for me.

I gave James a brush on the top of his head and his long golden locks curled tightly and relaxed before anyone saw. The children laughing at the magic we shared.

~ Cobb used dreams walking to gain information for corporate espionage. A strange thing to me since witches have very little use for commerce. We have no real interest in making or spending money. Certainly, we sell charms and remedies at times. But we don't invest in the stock market, or care about a global economy. That doesn't affect us at all. We always seem to have more then enough money to live on. No more, no less.

My mother and aunts were constantly complaining about how greedy humans were and how disgusting it all was.

As a result, any kindness I might have had to Mr. Cobb faded when I realized he was using people's dreams to make money.

"Their has to be a better way to earn coin." I told Arthur after the three of us explored a dream where I build a landscape of mazes for them.

Mr. Saito watching over the children while we slept. He was like a very much like a strange tiger that was trained to guard two helpless rabbits.

"Not for Mr. Cobb." Arthur said. "He loves going into dreams."

Night had fallen and Mr. Cobb was preparing to take the children home. Mr. Saito going with them. Even though the slayer was older, he looked like he possessed killing skills that still made him formidable. Arthur's vampire blood in his veins didn't hurt either.

"I should walk you home." Arthur told me as I felt my clothes were too heavy and I long to be naked.

"No, I'm fine." I told him.

"Mr. Eames is still out there. Watching us." The vampire said.  
"All the more reason for you to go with Cobb and the children." I told him. "How do you plan to convince Cobb to let me take them anyway?" I asked.

Arthur looked sad and troubled.

"I know I said I don't believe in minions, but I think I might have to... convince him." He said with difficulty.

Arthur was referring to a vampire's ability to hypnotize their victims. To place a human under their spell and make them almost slave like. Vampires do this very often. It allows them to have a liaison to the modern, outside world. A person who will protect them at all times.

I knew that if Arthur did this to Cobb, the human would be nothing more then a shell of the man I had met today.

"Let's hope it won't come to that." I said.

~ I knew the werewolf was watching me as I left the work shop. I smiled to myself and pulled my magic in tight. So tight my fingers hurt from the fury of it. I knew he was following me.

I could smell him. The animal like smell of fur, hot breath and want.

"Hello, beautiful." Cooed a voice in a light, almost cheery, English accent.

I turned, and threw the full force of my magic at him. The werewolf was too quick. He had anticipated my move and I have wasted my power on him.

I felt panic run into my blood like ice water and I could barely think as the werewolf slipped out of the shadows.

Only a wolf in a man's clothing could think that outfit looked good. It was gaudy even in the 70's. Now, it was just tragic.

"I must say, I've seen a lot of witches. None, of them as scrumptious as you." Mr. Eames said as he paced around me. A jackal looking to bite at a helpless fawn. He appeared human. A handsome face. Attractive and all male. But his eyes held the truth about what he really was.

"Stay back!" I shouted. I tried to summon my powers again when a smell found me. The smell of fresh fruit, salt air and lumber.

"Josh?" A croaked as Eames' yellow eyes danced over me.

"The carpenter?" The wolf said with mild amusement.

"What did you do to him?" I felt myself cry. The image of my giggling little girls vanishing from my mind before they even had a chance to exist.

"Why nothing. Nothing at all." The wolf said. His yellow eyes glowing. "Not yet anyway. You have the power to keep your consort safe. Just give me the boy."

"I can't." I whispered.

My thoughts going to Josh and how much I already loved him. How he was born just for me.

"James... I can't let you control him. He's too powerful." I explained as I felt my magic drain out of me. I felt so tired, so weak and frail suddenly.

The fourth moon had stolen my strength when Mr. Eames had threatened my consort. In the same way that Arthur's witch lover had not been able to defend herself against the Romans, I was now helpless to the werewolf. Love had broken me.

"Then he die." Eames growled. A noise rattling deep in his chest as I knew he was changing into the creature that would bite and claw me to death. His teeth barred as I was powerless to stop him.

Then, like a shadow, something flew over me. I was safe from Eames' attack. A pair of strong arms had lifted my up and we were flying.

I kept my eyes closed tightly as I heard Eames' angry howl echo through the night.

"It's alright." Arthur was saying.

I knew the vampire had a come back for me. He must have know that Eames would follow me and not the children. The slayer must have scared the werewolf too much.

I breathed in the smell of old paper and wood as we flew. The night air cold against my skin.

I couldn't tell if Arthur was running or flying but I know my feet weren't touching the ground at all. My body pulled neatly into his as I felt he had floated up to my apartment window and let us inside.

The warmth and familiarity of my humble dwelling comforted me as the vampire laid me on my bed.

"Josh." I cried softly as the vampire lit one of my black candles in the shape of a cat. A spell anyone can cast to have Bast look after someone.

The flame burning low and guttering before I finally felt well enough to come back.

My apartment was dark. The vampire was sitting on a chair next to my bed. He had lit my black Bast candle to protect me and stripped me naked so my magic could seep back into me.

"Arthur." A sighed and reached for him.

I almost expected his flesh to be cold, but it wasn't. His hands were like any other humans.

"I know about the carpenter." The vampire said. His voice oddly bitter and almost angry.

"Eames. He has him." I gasped as my body felt better without my clothes and the warm candle light keeping evil away.

"No, he doesn't. He knows how to get to him though." Arthur said.

"Arthur, you have to protect him." I begged. "The fourth moon, it's taking away my powers. I can't fight Eames if he hurts my consort."

"You love him already?" Arthur asked.

I was nodding.

"You gave the carpenter all your power and now Eames will use it against you." The vampire said hatefully.

"Arthur, please help him." I begged again.

"I have to protect the children and you. The carpenter isn't apart of it." He hissed.

"Arthur!" I cried. My body was seizing with some kind of electric force I couldn't explain. I had never felt this way before.

The vampire must have sensed it to because he looked over me worriedly. I was pulling him to me. I couldn't control myself anymore.

"Arthur." I mewed up at him. That strange gravity of the fourth moon telling me what to do now.  
"Ariadne?" He asked as I pulled him on top of me. My legs spreading around his lean hips. "What are doing?" He asked. Confusion written on his face as I couldn't stop kissing him.

My skin was too hot. My flesh was ready to ignite. There was only one way to keep me from bursting into flames.


	6. Chapter 6

6.

~ What happened next, was not my fault. I had no idea of the power of the fourth moon until I was held in it's grip. I was not prepared for it's ability to render my body so helpless.

I had certainly felt desire before. That strong feeling of lust that made me crave a touch, a kiss, a male body rolling over mine. His strength feeding me and filling me up. As a witch, I felt no remorse about giving into those desires. We gave into our needs as easily as humans give into their needs for hunger and warmth. Only humans couple sexual gratification with shame.

As Arthur rested nimbly on top of me, I felt no guilt about what we were about to do.

Josh, as much as I loved him, was not here to take care of my needs. The vampire was. Suddenly, all I could think about was how vampires would make good lovers. How Arthur, could settle the beast the fourth moon brought out in me.

"Ariadne." He whispered as he pulled away from my kiss.

"Help me!" I cried pitilessly. I knew he wanted me. His kiss reveled everything. A strange connection passing between us at the intimate contact of lips. I knew he wanted me from the moment he started spying on me. That he wanted to take me.  
"Your carpenter." Arthur whispered as his finger brushed back my hair so softly, I barely felt it.

"He's not here. You're here. I need..." I panted. My mind not working right as my hips strained up to him.

The feel of his expensive suit on my naked flesh was enticing. Something so sexual about being wearing nothing under a man who was so well dressed. It was so disproportionally unfair and wonderful. He looked as beautiful in his suit as I did naked.

"We shouldn't." Arthur said as he kissed my jaw. My hips bucking up to him as I wanted to scream at him.  
"Stop being a gentleman!" I growled as I clawed at him. My fingers pulling on the expensive fabric I liked so much. Couldn't he understand I was suffering? Couldn't he see it, and didn't he want to help me.

"You have to!" I cried as I couldn't get images of him ravishing me out of my head.

"Ariadne." He whispered as I felt his lips on my breasts.

I moaned at the contact. My skin was so hot I could barely stand it. My hands going to the fly on his slacks as his hips moved in perfect time with mine. He pulled away from me slightly and was looking at my face. His hips never breaking from their rhythm.

I knew I looked beautiful. I had seen my reflection and surprised even myself with my suddenly radiant skin and bright eyes. As Arthur gazed over me, I knew he was lost to me.

I felt his rock like hardness as he allowed my hands to explore down his shaft. He was a well made man. His body lean and firm as we kept our eyes locked. He couldn't hypnotize me. Not while I was already under the power if the fourth moon.

In this way, we were almost human. Creatures who gave into their baser instincts of love, lust and need.

He didn't ask again for my blessings or permission. Those wonderful hips of his rocking into me. Not too hard and not too soft. His maleness hitting my open desire with perfect firmness I felt my climax could come just from that.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered in my ear as I wilted under him. "I'm sorry."

"Please." Was all I could say as my fingers roamed over his enlarged, swollen shaft. My nakedness gave me power, and made it easier to have him. How could he resist? How could any man resist my body, my pleas for him to ravish me?

My hands were pumping him as his lips tormented my skin. His lips almost burned my already hot flesh with his little kisses.

"Ariadne." He moaned as I worked his shaft harder. "I can't give you the baby you need. You need your carpenter."

"Arthur!" I panted. "Help me!"

I started to cry as my body felt ready to rip itself apart.

The vampire either took pity on me, or gave into his forgotten human lust.

His hands covered mine and held them down as he forced himself into me.

He was hard. Harder then I was expecting, but he was satisfying. My passage felt full and somewhat appeased by it.

His rocking hips were perfectly synced to mine. It was like he read my thoughts as his hips rode into mine and his lips burned me. I never felt so beautiful as I did just now. My skin was still hot even in the cool night air.

I had never had a lover who had been able to make love like this. Who made my sex jump to life so quickly and who made my orgasm build so strongly.

Suddenly, with the simple flick of his hips, my womanhood became a ravage beast. I couldn't stand him inside me me anymore. My senses felt over loaded. I would die if he kept going. My body couldn't take it.

"Arthur!" I tried to cry but it came out as a squeal.

He rode me harder and I was groaning and gasping like an animal. His hips moving in such a way that made my vision fade with an orgasm I had never felt before.

"You need this." He growled. His vampire self coming out and his eyes glowing brightly.

He was thrusting, not harder, but more skillfully. He knew just how to use my body to debilitate me. My magic so strong now, I knew I could destroy the world.

"Please!" I begged as he purposefully tormented me. Those hips of his wiggling over my sex bud and making me scream.

I had lost consciousness at one point. When I woke, my dark lover was kissing me and asking if I needed him again. He stripped himself of that lovely vintage suit and his body was lean and beautiful.

Our next coupling was more slow. I rode his lap as he kissed my breasts and worshiped my body.

"I love how confident your kind can be about your bodies." He whispered as his lips and teeth nipped around my ribs.

My soft inner core satiated my his hardness as my legs were straddled over his lap.

Arthur enjoyed his view of my body as I took what I needed from him.

"Most of the greatest artwork of women, were witches." He whispered as his lips found my nipples and sucked them greedily.

"I know." I whispered. "Why human men hate us so much. They think we cast spells on them to make them love us. We don't have to anything." I said as I ground my body into his. Making my vampire groan.

"No..." He said enjoying the feel of me. "No you don't have to do anything." He agreed.

~ I woke up alone and cold. Arthur didn't feel the need to sleep. He slept while dream walking, but he didn't need to sleep everyday.

My hair had grown radically in the night. It was all the way down to my hips and I didn't bother to run a comb through it. I would only have to cut it again.

I wandered out into my living room. My vampire was watching the sun rise. His suit back on and he looked perfectly put together.

"I'm cold." I whispered as his had my large windows open. Watching the sun he could never feel.

"Maybe you should put some clothes on." He said bitterly.

I looked down and realized I was still naked.

"Oh." I said and turned back into my room to dress. I brushed back my long hair and returned to him.

"Thank you." I said shyly. "For helping me last night. It was the fourth moon. I needed-"

"I know what you needed." He interrupted.

His face like stone and his voice cold.

"Arthur. It doesn't mean anything." I tried to explain.

"I doesn't?" He asked sarcastically.

"No. It doesn't." I told him firmly. "Josh is my consort. I'm meant to be with him. I have to make sure he's alright."

"It's daylight. I can't protect you in the daylight." Arthur whispered.

"I'll be fine." I told him.

I didn't have time to brush my too long hair or cut it. I pulled it into a bun and finished dressing.

"You look better with longer hair." Arthur said as he watched me leave.

I gave him a long look before I left to find Josh.


	7. Chapter 7

7.

~ I sensed a strange pang of guilt for having sex with Arthur. I had never felt that way after sex before. I had always felt giddy and happy after a night of fierce lovemaking. Perhaps I felt bad because I knew I was meant to be with Josh and not the vampire.

I went to the market and was relived to see Josh there at his fruit stand. I watched him work for a few moments. Watching his sinewy arms move as he picked up crates and loaded a truck. My heart and body wanting to go to him. _Needing_ to go to him.

"Handsome, that one is." Eames hissed in my ear.

I didn't even jump as the werewolf came up behind me and purred in my ear. Eames rested his hands on my hips and almost spooned behind me. The werewolf's body relaxed and casual against me as we looked almost like lovers.

"I thought you said you were going to kill him? He seems fine to me." I said as a challenge.

"For now." Eames said casually. His breath tickling my ear, and I cringed.

Eames seemed proud of himself. His wolf eyes raking down my body.

"Just give me the boy, Beautiful. Give me the boy, and I'll leave you alone." He said in a deep, throaty growl. His nose nuzzling in my hair. His strong, rock like arms wrapping around me as I kept my gaze on Josh.

My consort had no chance against this beast. Eames could control his ability to change. He could become a wild animal at any moment and tear the poor human to sherds.

As if reading my mind, Eames chuckled darkly.

"Your consort won't survive me. Give me the boy and you can go to him. You can have a litter of fat, squalling puppies, and all without fear of me." He cooed in my ear.

I felt the magic pull into me. It was so much weaker now that I was seeing Josh. Now that I was afraid for him. Now that the wolf was at my door.

Whatever power Arthur had helped me rebuild last night was gone. I couldn't fight him.

I didn't have to.

With supernatural force, Eames was pulled off me. I felt a cold shadow pass into the ally and didn't look. Like Lot's wife, I knew I couldn't look.

I knew Arthur had followed me. The vampire had risked sunlight and followed me here to protect me from the werewolf's attack.

I heard the savage fight behind me as the humans didn't seem to notice us at all. The nature of our existence was one that we could conceal from the humans. They didn't look at the ally where Eames was growling wildly and Arthur was silent and deadly.

I knew when the vampire needed my help. I casually turned away from the market and went into the ally where my vampire had our mutual enemy in a head lock. Eames' eyes were wild and dangerous looking as Arthur held him back.

The ally shaded and the Vampire careful not to fall into the bright path of sunlight.

I felt the magic pull and I didn't hesitate to unleash it.

The werewolf was dead in a flash of brilliant, blue light. My magic suddenly strong again from being around Arthur. My hands hurt from the force of my spell crashing over Eames. My fingertips numb as I knew my spell was lethal. I watched in self satisfied apathy as his body crumbling to the ground.

Arthur was panting. The memory of needing to breath still strong within the vampire.

"Cobb has been killed." The vampire said not looking at me. His eyes on the dead werewolf at our feet.

~ "I had a feeling you would be back." Josh said as I appeared out of the ally. I knew I must have looked shaken. Josh's eyes landed on me and I was in his capable arms in a second.

"What happened? What's wrong?" He asked brushing my long hair off my face.  
"I'm fine." I said as I couldn't stop shaking. "A friend of mine just died is all." I said.

~ Josh and I talked for a long time. It felt so natural and easy with him. I gave no more thought to Arthur or even Eames and the children as my consort tried to comfort me on my loss.

"I'll have to go back to America." I told him. "My friend had two young children and they have no one else."

"I see." Josh said sadly.

"Josh, I understand if you don't want to be with me." I whispered. His fingers wrapping around my long hair. "With two young children."

"Ariadne." He sighed. "I can't _not_ be with you." He said with a warm smile that made my heart beat faster.

The human pulled me into his lap. I breathed deeply the smell of apples and salt air. The smell of lumber yards and summer grass. My giggling little girls so clear in my mind I could hear them.

"Moment I saw you, I knew I had to be with you." Josh whispered.

~ I felt light as air as I went to my apartment. Despite the sad news of Cobb, I knew Josh would be safe now that I had killed Eames. I knew Josh loved me and our life together could now begin.

The vampire was waiting for me in my apartment. I could once more feel his eyes on me even though he was hidden.

"Did Eames kill Cobb?" I asked what looked like an empty space.

No answer.

I shook my head.

"Josh wants to go back to America with me. He wants us to get married. He says it's crazy, but he wants to be with me." I told the vampire even though I wasn't exactly sure where he was.  
"James and Phillipa?" Arthur asked from his hiding place.

"Josh came from a big family. He wants them if it means he'll have me." I told the room.

"So, you are going to be with the carpenter? With the human?" Arthur asked.

I sighed.

"Of course." I said bitterly.

Arthur emerged from the shadows. His face pulled into a menacing scowl. He said nothing but I knew what he was thinking.

"It's what you wanted right? For me to take the children?" I asked.

"It's what I wanted." Arthur breathed sadly.

He kept his dark eyes on me. Accusing me.

"Last night didn't mean anything, Arthur." I told him angrily.

"I think we both know that's not true." He hissed back.

"Arthur." I started to say and then, like a coward, lost my nerve.

"Saito and I will bring the children to you in the morning. You can take them back to your Coven." The vampire growled.

"Arthur, wait." I said. I didn't want him to leave. I didn't want to be without him.

"That human weakens you. I can keep you strong." Arthur whispered.

I stepped back. Surely he wasn't suggesting...

"Stay with _me_." Arthur said. "We have a better chance of keeping the children safe if we're together. Their will always be others out to get to James. We can protect him better.

I didn't try to stop Arthur's advancements on me. I didn't want to.

As natural and easy as breathing. I was in his arms. His deep voice pleading for me to stay with him. For me to cast Josh aside and stay with him. To be a mother to the children and have him be their father.

I surrendered to my vampire then. His careful hands undressing me as I was helpless before him.

**~ Sorry it has taken so long to update my story. I have been under a lot of stress both at work and some personal medical stuff to. **

** After over 8 years at nursing, I've decided to leave it. I'm not sure what I'll do now, but it's no longer the rewarding career for me it once was. **

** In "The Girl who Dance on my Feet" it was very autobiographical for me. The reason Ariadne became a nurse were the same reasons I did. But, this field has always been stressful and I can no longer take any joy in it. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Told you I would update! (kisses)**

8.

~ Artemis had been right. Vampires made excellent lovers. Unlike yesterday, our coupling last night had not been so needful and hungry. For a time, I had forgotten he was a vampire. His touch on my body made me wilt and shudder as he satiated me and made be strong again.

I didn't have to wonder what my sister would say about my sexual relationship with the vampire. I knew my sister was about to have her baby. I could see her and I knew she was too focused on her own experience, to focus on me. I also knew I didn't need to tell her I would be bringing James and Phillipa home with me. My Coven most likely could sense the abrupt change, and was preparing for it.

I left the vampire in my bed. I could see his biting black eyes glaring at me from the shadows as I went to make myself a cup of tea.

I needed to calm down. I needed to think. Everything Arthur had said was true. Josh couldn't protect me. As a human, he was vulnerable to death. My own father had died too young. Any man who became a witch's consort had his days numbered. Our kind was too dangerous. With James to worry about now, it would be even more deadly for Josh.

I could head my two little girls fade from my life before they were even conceived. A few hours ago, I could hear them laughing and playing in the same garden I had played in with Artemis. Without Josh, they would never be. Arthur may be the perfect protector, but I would lose so much if I chose him.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to you not wearing clothes around the house." Arthur whispered in my ear. I had been so absorbed in my own thought, I had not heard my vampire sneaking up behind me. His movements were stealth like and his touch feather light. Not even the floor creaked when he walked.

I looked down at my own nakedness in surprise. Once again, I was too comfortable in my own skin.

"When we take the children back to your Coven, you'll have to remember to wear clothes around them." He said kissing my neck. His lips just above the jugular that would kill him if he drank from it.

"How would we take you back to America? Ship you in a box?" I asked.

I felt Arthur smile.

"I know it sounds crude and heartless, but it's effective. We should leave as soon as possible. I can hypnotize a judge in the morning to grant you custody of the children. We can leave as soon as the ink is dry." He said confidently.

"Go ahead and hypnotize a judge, Arthur. But you won't be be going with us." I told him.

The vampire froze.

He said nothing, and remained like a statue with his arms around me.

"I'm going to be with Josh. I love him. He's my consort. I see myself having children with him. I could never have children with you. With you, it's only danger and death. That's all a vampire can bring. No life. None of the things that defines a witch." I told him slipping out of his arms.

Naked or no, I felt strong. The fourth moon had robbed me of most of my powers, but Arthur had ways of healing that. Our primal lovemaking had helped restore me. I wasn't strong enough to defend myself if he attacked, but I wasn't helpless either.

The vampire turned and glared at me. His dark eyes angry and vengeful.

"And if I find Josh and kill him? Then, what will your choice be?" He hissed. His voice now the dangerous creature he was.

"I'll stop you." I told him.

Before I could react, the vampire has a large, strong hand around my throat. I was too afraid to even scream as his face distorted into that of his true form. The face of a man, no longer a man, but of something tainted with evil.

"And if I open your vain? If I feed off you? I'll leave you to bleed to death before you can get help and we'll both die." He growled in the voice of a demon.

"Then James and Phillipa will be lost!" I screamed. "You want that?"

"I told you, I wanted _you_." He growled.

I looked into the vampire's face and I had to wonder who was more dangerous, Eames or Arthur.

"Let me go." I hissed at Arthur. The creature growling as he exposed fangs that would tear open my flesh and feed on me. An act that would kill the both of us.

"Arthur." I whimpered.

He looked at me again. His dark eyes suddenly softer as his fangs retracted and his features went back to that of a mans.

"Please." I said again.

With a savage growl, the vampire abandoned me. His movements so quick and powerful, pictures were knocked off walls, papers were scattered and curtains were left flapping from the force of his abrupt departure.

I was alone. My magic bled out of me as I never felt more weak then I did just now.

I suddenly occurred to me; my heart was broken.


	9. Chapter 9

9.

**1Year Later...**

~ I awoke from the sound of some nightmare. I had been dream walking and was released from it so suddenly, I couldn't go back to sleep. A night bird calling out in the forest behind our house made me feel uneasy at the oddity of it.

I stirred out of bed, making sure to be as quite. Josh was a light sleeper and could easily be woken. I hated to leave our marriage bed. It smelled like fruit and salt air. My husband's natural scent that mixed with mine till we smelled almost the same now. I didn't bother with turning on any lights. I knew my way around the bedroom and the massive old house too well. It was the house I grew up in. The house my mother and aunts had grown up in, as well as my grand mother and her sisters. I knew this place better than I knew myself.

I could hear my mother and and my aunts snoring in their rooms. I made sure not to step on the squeaky floor board on the landing before the stairs as old portraits of my long dead relatives glared at me from shadows.

'_Witches are not supposed to keep secrets._' They seemed to whispered to me. '_Not from each other._'

I slipped past Artemis and her husband's room. A loud snore coming from her mate as he dreamed of nothing.

The babies were in their nursery. Artemis' girl and my own newborn. Gemma was only two months old and already sleeping through the night. A fact that mystified Josh but didn't surprise my family. Our blood was in Gemma and she would be a fine witch one day.

I ran a light hand over her hair. The same color as my consorts. Josh and I didn't want to wait to start our family, and as we arrived back home, we started trying and got lucky right away.

The pull of the fourth moon slacked and my powers were returned to me, stronger then ever before. I knew now what Artemis meant when she said the powers were stronger with her pregnancy. I couldn't wait to have another baby. Gemma seemed incomplete without a sister.

I peeped in on Phillipa. The little orphaned girl was sleeping soundly next to the daughter of one of our Coven members. Phillipa was learning the ways of our kind very fast.

Her brother, James, was not in his tiny little room. But I didn't panic; I knew where he would be.

~ The forest surrounding our house was scary at night. I don't understand the fascination James has with them. He claims he can see things other witches can't and we believe him.

Our little boy was welcomed into the Coven and shown our ways. His powers seeming to grow stronger with each passing day. We hoped he would be ruled by the need to help others and not hurt them. The darkness in humans is so tempting to a male witch.

I spotted him after a short walk into the dark forest. He was sitting on a fallen tree and watching the stars.

"James?" I asked coming to stand behind him.  
"I was just watching the stars." James said innocently.

I felt a shadow move in the trees and knew he was lying to me.  
"James." I sighed. "We've talked about keeping secrets from our sisters."

"I know." He said sadly. The little boy turned to me. "But _you_ keep secrets from them."

I wanted to explain. This was a unique situation. But I closed my mouth and said nothing. If Artemis knew, she said nothing. No one said a thing about, if they knew. Just like we didn't _exactly_ tell Josh I was witch. We didn't have to, because he never asked. I didn't tell my secrets, because no one asked.

"James, go to bed. It's not safe out here. Not without us to protect you." I told him.

"That's not what he said." James whispered nodding to the trees.

I knew right away who he was talking about.

"Go to bed, James." I told the little boy again.

He nodded and left me in the woods.

We watched him leave and for several seconds, said nothing.

"How long was he out here?" I asked the shadows.

"Not to long." Arthur told me. The vampire detaching himself from his hiding place.

"You're getting better at that. Not being seen." I told him as the bright moonlight cast harmlessly down on him.

He looked the same as he did when we first met in Paris. It felt like a lifetime ago now. So much had happened.

"Thank you." Was all Arthur said.  
"What do you two talk about every night?" I asked him as Arthur took my hand and we began our nightly walk.

"A lot of things. I think he's curious about me. He always knew what I was. He want's to know about all I've seen. About the creatures who want to hurt him. To take him. If there are other male witches. He's very curious." Arthur explained.

I nodded. It was nice James had Arthur to guard him during the night. There was no one I trusted more to protect the little boy. There were still dangerous things that might come for him. Arthur kept him safe when Saito wasn't around.

Our resident Slayer had set up a strange little bookshop that appealed to no one as a cover. He wasn't allowed on our property and the Coven had declared an uneasy truce with the Slayer.

"Make sure you cover your scent. I don't want to have to explain you to my mother and my aunts." I whispered as Arthur guided me to our very isolated clearing.

I cast a shadow spell over us and we were invisible to the outside world.

"I'm always very careful." Arthur said as he started kissing me. "How's Gemma?"

"Sleeping all night." I said proudly.

"So soon?" Arthur was chuckling as I started to pull off his vintage suit. My body missing his touch even though it had only been a day.

"She's a witch. Not a human." I informed him.

"Will you and Josh have another one?" Arthur asked casually.

"Yes." I told the vampire as we laid down in the cool summer grass. "I love him."

"And yet, you visit _me_ every night." Arthur pointed out as he pulled off my thin night gown. My body round and soft from having a child. "Can you explain that?" He pestered.

"I can't." I whispered. Our lips met and we made love under the moonlight.

~ In the morning, before dawn, I returned to my bed. My vampire already tucked safely away in Mr. Saito's bookshop until nightfall. I smelled the trees and caught no scent of old paper. Arthur had been careful.

Gemma was awake and fussy as I crept into her room. I nursed her and she looked back at me worriedly. Perhaps she knew her mother's heart belonged to two men.

I went back to bed with Josh and pretended I had been there all along. He never questioned it.

In the morning, we were normal. My consort was a loving father to our daughter and helped keep our Coven protected from outsiders. His love for me was flawless and I knew I was supposed to feel more for him then what I did.

I helped my mother and my aunts in the garden and then Artemis with her drying. In the evening, we would put Gemma to bed and Josh would make love to me. At night, I would wake from a dream walk Arthur had pulled me into.

Night after night, I would go back to my lover, back to my vampire.

**~ END ~**


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